A\N: Sorry it's late--I had nowhere near enough sleep last night.

I really should've seen this one coming.

I shout over the ruckus of accusations and lies, "GUYS!" That settles them down instantly. Okay, problem one solved. Next problem. "Billy, what in the world are you writing this down for?"

"Scientific observations on the human mind." He blinks up at me innocently. Lord, kid, you have got to quit doing that. Even Tommy can figure out you're faking, if that death glare is anything to judge by.

"All righty. Let's just pretend that trying to hold experiments while we're all in crisis creeps most people out, okay?" Billy smiles sheepishly and deletes them. Problem two down. Time for problem three. "So, let's recap. Kim, your mom freaked out, right?"

Kim sniffles and nods.

"Tommy, your uncle's cool but he told you Zordon's an ass, right?"

"Yeah." You look really disgruntled there, bro. Damnit, I should've seen this coming! I should've known Zordon's offers of leadership were too good to be true. I should have known something would hurt the others.

"Trini, your parents are horrified."

"Obviously."

I shoot her a glare. "We are having a talk later. You, Billy, Zack, and me, all about the wonders and joys of telling your team leader when something feels off about a situation. No matter what that situation is."

Zack holds up his hands. "Hey, I was keeping everything good until now."

"Later." That's problem number...what is it, a hundred now? Jeeze, I feel sorry for Rita and Zedd. I've only got five people under me and I still have a headache. "Billy, your parents..?"

"Are suitably saddened that I did not inform them of this. What else?"

Yeah, you really need a talk, Billy boy. The kind of one-on-one talk we had when your parents were about to divorce...oh, great, I bet that's it. Damnit, Billy, Tommy's the one who won't talk to me! You're supposed to let me help you! Anyway, moving on. "Zack? Your parents?"

"Calmer. Not happy, but calmer."

I nod. "Okay." Problem three settled. Time for problem four. That's the worst, isn't it? "Zordon?"

"JASON, WHATEVER YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, I DOUBT YOUR PARENTS ARE THINKING CORRECTLY." Uh-hunh. Thanks for confirming them, Zordon.

"And who said anything about them?" I ask. "As it so happens, they're proud of me. They're just worried that an adult asked kids to fight for him. And honestly, when you put it that way, so am I."

Zordon blinks. "YOU ARE MATURE WARRIORS. IN MY CULTURE, YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO DO YOUR JOB."

No, you do not get to play the ET card, Zordon, because these aren't your teammates. "Zordon, I had to deal with Tommy and Kim's random love crap. I had to deal with the Evil Green Ranger. I had to deal with Zack and Billy on a sugar high singing Yellow Submarine to the whole school, for God's sake. Don't tell me you can pull anything over my eyes, because I'm pretty sure that only worked with me once because I was so busy leading." Note to self: NEVER get caught up in ANYTHING weird again.

Zordon pauses, then says, "I NEVER INTENDED TO MANIPULATE YOU."

"Did the Council?" I ask. Getting closer.

Zordon doesn't awnser.

"I'll take that as a yes." I look around.

No one'll look at me.

"Guys, we need to talk. All of us, outside."

The desert sun is bright and hot. I watch my teammates file outside, looking vaugly ashamed. "So what do you want to do?"

They look up.

I sigh. "We're Rangers. But we don't have to be. So it's up to you." I take a deep breath. "I'll find another team if you don't want to fight. An adult one this time. And trust me, I will understand. So...what do you wanna do?"

They look at each other.

"We need to sort this out with our parents." Tommy says. "But I won't make anyone else fight for this."

"It's good for me." Kim says quietly. "To fight...it helps me. So I'm staying."

"I'd hurt someone without this." Trini says quietly. "And it's my right now, Jason."

"Where else would I see alien techology?" Billy asks, smiling.

Zack sighs dramatically. "Well, someone's gotta keep you guys outta trouble. Count the Z-man in."

I nod. "Okay. You guys wanna go tell Zordon, Tommy, Kim? The rest of us need to talk about why we tell our leaders about stuff that could get us in trouble." I shoot the trio a glare. They have the good grace to look ashamed.

You know...I think I like being a Ranger.

I'm a leader.

THE END